PicSat Videos

On this page, you will find embedded edited video material about PicSat. These videos are hosted on the PicSat YouTube channel. Feel free to embed these videos on other websites. If you want to edit parts of these videos for your purposes, or if you need raw video material, please contact the PicSat team.

PicSat System Manager Lester David explains about the PicSat mission.

PicSat Principal Investigator Sylvestre Lacour talks about the PicSat project and how it came about.

PicSat Principal Investigator Sylvestre Lacour shows some of the PicSat technology.

PicSat Project Manager Vincent Lapeyrere shows PicSat while in the clean room at the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France.

PicSat Payload Scientist Mathias Nowak, a PhD student at the LESIA laboratory of the Paris Observatory, France, presents the PicSat optical and electrical payload (see more details in the payload description section on this website).

Astrophysicist Alain Lecavelier des Etangs (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France), tells about how he started working on the Beta-Pictoris star system in early 1990s in the group of Alfred Vidal-Madjar (part 1). Also see science references.

Astrophysicist Alain Lecavelier des Etangs (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France) tells about the first images of the Beta-Pictoris disk very close to the star, that he and his colleagues took in the 1990s (part 2). Also see science references.

Astrophysicist Alain Lecavelier des Etangs (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France) tells how he discovered light variations of Beta-Pictoris from data from 1981 and how he inferred it could be due to the transit of a planet (part 3). Also see science references.

Astrophysicist Alain Lecavelier des Etangs (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France) talks about the possible orbits of planet Beta-Pictoris b and the implication for observing any transit phenomenon (part 4). Also see science references.

Astrophysicist Alain Lecavelier des Etangs (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France) talks how the idea for PicSat was born at a meeting in 2014 (final part). Also see science references.

Astrophysicist Flavien Kiefer (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France) talks about the detection of exocomets in the Beta-Pictoris system. He is leading an observational programme at the European Southern Observatory in support of PicSat. This programme uses the ESO HARPS instrument at the 3.6 meter telescope at La Silla, Chile. Also see science references.

PicSat Project Manager Vincent Lapeyrere presents the PicSat Ground Station at the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France, that will be used to control PicSat and receive and upload data.

PicSat team member and F4GKR - REF and IARU Region 1 EC member Sylvain Azarian talks about the two different types of data PicSat will be sending to Earth, how anyone be a receiving ground station and how licensed amateurs around the world can use PicSat to talk to other amateurs.

(with French subtitles; with thanks to Pierre Lescure of the French Réseau des Émetteurs Français for help with the translation) PicSat team member and F4GKR - REF and IARU Region 1 EC member Sylvain Azarian talks about the two different types of data PicSat will be sending to Earth, how anyone be a receiving ground station and how licensed amateurs around the world can use PicSat to talk to other amateurs.

PicSat Flight Software engineer Antoine Crouzier explains about his task in programming the PicSat onboard computer (part 1).

PicSat Flight Software engineer Antoine Crouzier explains about his task in programming the PicSat onboard computer (part 2).

The correct deployment of PicSat's antenna's were tested in the clean room at the Paris Observatory on Monday 20 November 2017.

An important vibration test to prepare for launch, done on Monday 27 November 2017 in the clean room at the Integration and Test Platform (Plateforme d’Intégration et de Tests - PIT) of the Observatoire de Versailles, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. PicSat passed with flying colours!

An important shock test to prepare for launch, done on Tuesday 28 November 2017 in the clean room at SOPEMEA (France). PicSat passed with flying colours!

See how PicSat gets completely integrated by the PicSat team in this 55s timelapse! Recorded on 7/8 December 2017 at the clean room of the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France

At 4h59 AM Paris local time PicSat on Friday 12 January 2018 PicSat was successfully launched into Earth orbit together with about 30 other satellites on the ISRO PSLV-C40 launcher.

PicSat passed over Europe several times during the first day in orbit. On the very first pass, around 9h30m local time, the PicSat team detected the beacons that PicSat is sending out every 10 seconds, proving that the satellite is well and alive!

PicSat Payload Scientist Mathias Nowak explains about the alignment of the optical elements in the PicSat telescope to make sure optical distortion, called aberration, is minimal, before sending it into space. Mathias Nowak is a PhD student on the PicSat project at the LESIA / Observatoire de Paris - PSL.

On Thursday 18 January the PicSat team attempted deploying one of the two deployable solar panels. The next day they confirmed it worked and sent the command to deploy the second panel!

PicSat Project Manager Vincent Lapeyrere, together with internship student Mathurin Grenot, is testing the proper working of the star tracker on the PicSat Flight Model. Test in the clean of LESIA / Observatoire de Paris - PSL on 15 November 2017.

A surprise test of the transponder on the evening pass over Paris / Europe on Thursday 15 February 2018 by PicSat's only certified radio amateur Mathias Nowak aka F4HZG, transmitting from Meudon, France aka F4KJW.

Saturday 24 February 2018, AMSAT-Francophone meeting at Electrolab in Nanterre, France. PicSat team members Mathias Nowak (F4HZG) Sylvain Azarian (F4GKR) present the PicSat project at the French AMSAT-F meeting in Nanterre, and demonstrate the PicTalk software while PicSat is passing over at the same time.

On Tuesday 20 March 2018 PicSat suddenly fell silent, after two successful morning passes over Europe. Attempts to re-establish contact have failed, nothing has been heard from the satellite, no sign of life. On Thursday 5 April 2018 the team decided to call the mission to an end. A "pot" (French for party / drink) was organised at noon at the Paris Observatory in Meudon. Sylvestre Lacour did a short speech. Four radio amateurs who have been PicSat fans and great support joined in via a dedicated Google Hangout.